Sharp Calming Breaths
by glassfacet
Summary: It's sixth year, and utter madness is coming to Hogwarts. Remus and Sirius are joining the staff as co-DADA teachers. The Marauder class is coming up from the past from Halloween til Christmas. Ron and Hermione are falling in love - but not with each other. And Draco makes Harry a very unusual offer. Same universe as Toujours Pur. Warning: my headcanon, slash, het, lil bit crack.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One - The Talk

_In which Harry spends some quality time with Sirius and Remus and receives some fairly late but much appreciated parenting, to the embarrassment of all involved._

Number twelve, Grimmauld Place was a reasonably unpleasant place to either visit or live. It was a house determined to stifle sound and absorb light, and be generally foreboding. Or at least, it was that way at the beginning of June in 1996. By the end of July, the dark panelling and wallpaper was gone. Sirius and Remus decided that enough was enough and removed the wall that old Mrs Black's portrait was on. They rebuilt the wall and barricaded the painting in Regulus' bedroom, which they then sealed shut.

Harry moved in with his unusual extended family ten days into summer break. Even though he wasn't legally allowed to do magic outside of school, Remus and Sirius let him get away with some things. Like when they had to clean a bedroom, Remus insisted that Harry learn basic housekeeping spells and practice them. Sirius taught him the proper way to evict nests of Doxies, from brewing the right potion for bites to spells to keep them immobile, other than Stunning spells, that were still humane.

Tonks, who lived there part time, helped with removing truly dangerous things. If Sirius wasn't sure if something was legal, Tonks would be asked to get it out of the house and into a secure facility. Harry learned quite a bit about the finer points of magical law before his sixteenth birthday, courtesy of the adults at number twelve. Particularly the laws regarding werewolf rights, or as Sirius pointed out, lack thereof.

"Kingsley is coming by tomorrow to make sure that my transforming space is up to Ministry standards," Remus informed them over breakfast. "I want you two out of the house by nine. Go grocery shopping or something."

"Kingsley's a decent sort though," said Harry.

**"**But the official Ministry forms are not," said Remus. "And the standard for the confining room is significantly higher, and correspondingly uncomfortable, if there is someone underage living in the house. Both of you will go."

"What are the forms about?" asked Sirius, putting down the slice of toast he'd been working on. "You've never told me."

"Very personal questions," said Remus. "Am I single? Am I sexually active? Am I employed? Does my employer know I'm a werewolf? How many times a week to I eat meat? Do I enjoy watching violent movies? Things like that. Very annoying."

"Fine, fine, we'll go," said Sirius with a mischievous glint in his eye. "But let us help you practice for the interview. We ask you, you ask us. It'll be fun."

"Sounds good to me," said Harry. "Please, Remus?"

Remus sighed. "Fine, fine. Ask whatever, I suppose."

"Alright," said Sirius, putting on a pseudo-serious face. "Mr Lupin, are you currently employed?"

"Why yes, I am," said Remus, equally mock-serious. "I'm a spy for an underground Voldemort resistance group. I gather information about his movements from other werewolves."

"So your employer is aware of your condition?" asked Harry, catching on to the game.

"Of course," said Remus. "It was my greatest credential."

"What is your favourite type of meat?" asked Sirius.

"I'm very fond of rat," said Remus. "But chicken is nice too." Both Harry and Sirius laughed at that, and Remus cracked a smile. "I'm afraid that's becoming a running in-joke."

"And why shouldn't it?" said Sirius. "I myself am partial to rat. Eating venison, on the other hand, makes me gag. It's too weird."

"What about you, Harry?" said Remus. "Any favourite foods?"

"I like roasted chicken," said Harry. "And treacle tart. I'm not really picky, though."

"So may I test out different recipes on you?" asked Remus, perking up. "Sirius can't cook at all and has been terrified of my new concoctions since the exploding tiramisu. Which _wasn't_ my fault, precisely."

"How did you get tiramisu to explode?" asked Harry. "And what is tiramisu?"

"You've never had tiramisu?" said Sirius incredulously. "Remus, what's on next week's menu?"

"I haven't planned it yet," said Remus. "But I can add an Italian night. We'll do make your own pizzas and tiramisu."

"Excellent," said Sirius. "It's been ages since I've had your tiramisu."

"Back to questions," said Remus firmly. "Because I know that Sirius is dying to know and won't ask, are you seeing anyone, Harry?"

"No," said Harry. "I mean, I went to the Yule Ball with Parvati. That went badly. And the one date I had with Cho was an unmitigated disaster."

"What happened?" asked Sirius.

"She wanted to talk about Cedric," said Harry, "in Madam Puddiffoot's tea shop. And I went and mentioned meeting Hermione later without decent context or excuse. Very awkward."

"I think we can call that a disaster," said Remus, shaking his head. "I've heard of worse, but not by much."

"Like the time Lily went out with what's-his-face from Ravenclaw?" said Sirius.

"Much like," said Remus. To Harry he added, "Your mum decided to go out with Westley Biggins in fifth year. James got himself all worked up about it, and somehow convinced us to sabotage them. Not that Biggins needed our help, or anything."

"He spent the whole date treating Lily like she was stupid," said Sirius. "Which your mum was less than impressed by, as you can imagine. I think the final straw came after we slipped a drop of Veritaserum into his butterbeer and he basically admitted to being a pig."

"Lily even thanked us for running interference," said Remus. "Later, of course, when she wasn't quite so angry at us for wrecking her date."

"You and Mum were friends, right?" said Harry.

"We were," said Remus. "She couldn't stand James and Sirius, separately or together, and Peter was a bit frightened of her, but we found that we had quite a bit in common. Both of us were fond of old Muggle fiction."

"You'd argue about it for hours," sighed Sirius. "James never could follow your conversations about the Brontes and Tolstoy."

"You only started reading War and Peace after your liver and kidneys were somehow vanished," said Remus dryly, "and you needed something to do while they regrew."

"And what a wonderful experience it was," said Sirius.

"How did you lose your internal organs?" asked Harry.

"I got into a rather heated argument with Bellatrix," said Sirius. "In due fairness, she was on the other side of the ward, attempting to regrow a good portion of her skeletal system. It was a nasty business."

"I'll bet," said Harry. "Can I ask you something really personal?"

"Of course," said Remus, settling into teacher mode. "There's a lot you don't know about us. It's only natural to ask."

"Are either of you seeing someone?" asked Harry tentatively. Sirius and Remus exchanged looks.

"Yes," said Sirius quietly, taking Remus' hand.

"And have been for a while," said Remus. Both of them watched Harry warily, waiting for the reaction.

"Brilliant," said Harry, blinking. "Erm, how long is a while?"

"Since, what, our fourth year?" said Sirius. Remus nodded. "Well something like that. Not exactly stable, mostly because I'm an idiot."

"Did my parents know?" asked Harry.

"They did, actually," said Remus. "James found out early in fifth year, just after they'd gotten the Animagus transformations down pat. Apparently, I wouldn't stop biting Padfoot's face."

"Which roughly translates to 'I love you' in wolf speak," said Sirius. "James and I had poured over wolf behaviour books for hours, trying to figure out how to introduce our animal selves to Moony. There was no way he forgot."

"And Lily figured it out the old fashioned way," said Remus, shaking his head. "Sirius just had to come up with an elaborate apology scheme, and Lily, poor dear, walked in on it. Oddly wasn't phased by who, just by what."

"But if Peter knew, why didn't he mention it to anyone?" asked Harry. "I mean, he could have said something in the Shrieking Shack. Or to Voldemort. So why didn't he?"

"Probably because he wasn't sure where we stood with each other," said Sirius. "Volatile relationship that we had in our teens and twenties, people rarely knew what was going on with us. So when Lily and James died, we were on the outs in a pretty extreme way."

"And because we'd just seen each other again, but were being friendly," said Remus, "Peter was stuck between the whole 'just-friends' and 'together' options." He paused and looked over Harry's expression worriedly. "Are you okay with everything?"

"I think so," said Harry, mulling over everything they'd shared. "I mean, no one ever mentioned it to me at all before. Like, at all. About anything."

"Um, anything?" asked Remus tentatively. "Like no one mentioned _us_ anything? Or about ah, romantic attachments and intimacy anything?"

"Eer, both, really," muttered Harry, rather embarrassed.

"Oh dear," said Remus. "Right. Because you would have been pulled out of Muggle schools before the Talk. And, um, the Dursleys didn't…? Right, of course not. Sirius, this is your job."

"I'm lost, Moony," said Sirius. "What's my job?"

"Talking through the Talk," said Remus. "And answering questions that come from it."

"Wait, like the Talk, the Talk?" said Sirius. "But Remus - "

"I know the basics," said Harry, jumping in to try to save his godfather some embarrassment. "Mrs Weasley got us Muggle info pamphlets in second year. And I looked up the things I had questions about in the library."

"Thank God for Molly Weasley," sighed Sirius. "And libraries."

"You still have to do a Q and A, Sirius," said Remus firmly. "Consider it a rehashing of every gave of Truth or Dare you've ever played. I have to go and make sure the confining room is as secure as it should be."

"Damnit," sighed Sirius as Remus practically flew out of the kitchen. "He always has the best excuses. Even in school. Like the time we wanted to pin raw meat all over the potions classroom at the waxing gibbous."

"What happened?" asked Harry.

"It was one of Peter's better ideas," said Sirius. "But we had to postpone it until Remus wouldn't feel compelled to eat all of it. At which point we learned that the snobbish rich can't tell the difference between common raw meat and well prepared appetizers. A good chunk of our year wound up with food poisoning, and we didn't get into trouble for it."

"Lucky," said Harry. "Snape would never let me get away with something like that."

"To be fair, Lily gave us a good dressing down," said Sirius. "Mostly about wasting food. And then she made us each eat two full trifle bowls of everything on the table at dinner that night. And thus I learned to appreciate growing up in my family. Their politics suck, but they always made sure that everybody had more than enough to eat."

"I know about sucky extended families," said Harry. "You've met the Dursleys, right?"

"Not since your parents got engaged," admitted Sirius. "I found that their viewpoint on the world was almost as narrow as my mum's. Except that Mum, for all her faults, never objected to Regulus or me bringing boys home."

"Are things that different in the wizarding world?" asked Harry.

"Fairly," said Sirius thoughtfully. "I mean, it's a strange situation, really. On the one hand, old pureblood families have their anti-Muggle prejudice, but no one cares who you fall in love with, so long as one of you is competent with either spell work or potions. On the other hand, the families that have welcomed Muggles and their ideas care. They worry about their kids being gay. It's a bit hard to sort out, actually."

"How did my parents feel?" asked Harry.

"I'll show you the book of trees at some point," said Sirius. "James' great grandfather married another man. It was a bit scandalous at the time, as your great great grandfather had money but nowhere to live, and his husband had an ancient house but no money. But apparently, they were happy together. My maternal grandmother was their daughter. Mum hated her. But yeah, James wasn't one to care about either, really. Lily found it strange at first, I think, but she chose this as her world so the customs came with it."

"That doesn't really give me an answer," said Harry. He quickly added, "Sorry."

Sirius pushed his hair roughly back. "It's fine, I'm just not doing this well. Your dad grew up accepting lots of things, like people of different backgrounds and sexualities, and not accepting things, like the Dark Arts. I can say that for sure because we talked about it, the lot of us in our dorms. But I'm not sure about how Lily felt. I'd say, read her diaries, but they went missing."

"So she was probably okay with it," said Harry. "Hey, Sirius? How did you know that you loved Remus?"

"Hmm," said Sirius. "We used to take turns sneaking Remus chocolate when he was in the hospital wing. So one time when it was my turn, I snuck in and found him sound asleep. I knew that Madam Pomfrey had done a good job, but he looked so frail. So, being the stupid fourteen year old I was, I decided to curl up next to him to keep him warm. James gave us a picture of it when we graduated. But when I woke up, I knew that I was in the right place."

"And I've been attempting to housetrain him ever since," said Remus from the doorway. "The room's as good as it's going to be, between what I've done to it, what you've done to it and what the Order Aurors have done to it. By the way, I knew the first night in the dormitory. I'd been waiting for someone who smelled like Sirius ever since I'd been bitten."

"That's sappy," said Harry.

"It is," agreed Remus. "But it does certainly help. I'm guessing you haven't done the awkward bits, have you?"

"Nope," said Sirius. "We thought we'd have all day. I'd be happier if you'd help."

"Fine, fine," sighed Remus. "Ask away, Harry. Neither of us bite in human form. Much."

"Um," said Harry, his face an unusual shade of pink. "I did have a few questions…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two - The Lady

_In which an old friend of the family comes to call and they go to the local werewolf bar._

As July bled into August, the residents of Grimmauld Place fell more into a routine. Remus and Sirius got up early and went for a long walk to the local dog park, where Sirius showed off and Remus chatted with other people who thought getting up very early to play with their dogs was a good idea. Usually, by the time they got back, Harry would have gotten up and made breakfast. Sirius cleaned up the breakfast mess, while Remus and Harry practiced different protective spells. And then the insanity of battling the house would commence.

Afternoons were different. Remus usually worked the afternoon shift at a local bookstore, and according to Sirius was very popular with the regular customers. Sirius himself spent part of the afternoon with Buckbeak and part of the afternoon sorting through Order paperwork. Sometimes, Harry joined him in feeding and talking to Buckbeak. Usually, though, he went for a walk of the neighbourhood and got groceries.

One afternoon, Harry came back from his walk with several bags of groceries containing food for dinner and treats for Buckbeak. He toed off his shoes, waved at the portrait of the young Marauders (Peter seemed to be hiding in the frame again) and poked his head into the sitting room to see if Sirius was working in there.

The person who was sitting on the chaise lounge was definitely not Sirius. Her dark brown curls were pinned away from her face, and one stocking-clad foot bounced impatiently. When she saw him, she perked up, her dark red lips curving up in a smile and her satin and lace corset creaking slightly as she rearranged herself. Harry stared.

"Hellooo," said the woman.

"Hi," said Harry. "Er, would you like a cup of tea?"

The woman laughed. "Tea would be nice."

"Great," said Harry. He pulled himself back out to the hall and took the groceries down to the kitchen. Sirius was sifting at the kitchen table, reading the Quibbler and circling words as he went. He looked up as Harry came in.

"You're back," said Sirius. "Anything interesting happening in the neighbourhood?"

"There's a half dressed woman in our sitting room," said Harry, bewildered. "Why is there a half naked woman in our sitting room?"

"Let me go talk to her," said Sirius, frowning as he rose from his chair and strode down the hall towards the living room. Harry shrugged, put the kettle on, and stored the groceries in the ice box. There was a box of tea in a cupboard labelled 'For company we like', so Harry dropped one of the tea bags into the warmed teapot.

Tea made, Harry arranged all of the necessaries on a tray and carried it to the sitting room, where he found Sirius and the woman in a heated conversation about Quidditch. Harry poured the tea into three cups, set them all within reaching distance of the room's occupants, and waited for a break to make his presence known.

"So, Sirius," said the woman, "who's the pup?"

"Don't be rude," said Sirius. "Harry, this is Remus' half-sister on the werewolf side, Delilah Azkaban. Delilah, this is Lily and James' son, Harry."

"Oh my goodness," said Delilah. "It's been such a long time… Lily used to let me babysit you just after you were born. You've grown up handsome. Skinny, but handsome."

"Nice to meet you," said Harry. "Erm, Remus never mentioned you."

Delilah laughed. "I'm not surprised. I'm not exactly polite conversation, now am I? And Remus does love being human."

"Delilah's an exotic dancer," said Sirius. "Not to mention very strong-willed. She and Remus don't get on as wolves."

"Does that happen a lot?" Harry asked.

"Surprisingly, it does," said Delilah. "And it's not that we don't get on. It's that he's so much fun to bully." Worriedly, she added, "Does the Ministry know that you have a minor living here?"

"Not exactly," said Sirius. "Officially, he lives with the Dursleys - Lily's sister's family. The basement cells are fairly comfortable. There's even an obstacle course for entertainment."

"See, there's a good idea," declared Delilah. "If there were obstacle courses in the public containment centres, there would be half the deaths every full moon."

"You know the Ministry's stance on pro-werewolf suggestions," sighed Sirius. "Still, once I'm cleared, I might get a job in the office, see if I can make a few changes to the way things get done."

"Hermione might be good at that too," said Harry. Delilah raised an eyebrow. "My friend. She's passionate about equal rights work. I'm not sure what she might want to do with that, though."

"And having younger people on the cause might help too," mused Delilah. "Help break the cycle of prejudice. We'll see."

"Er," said Harry, "how did you get a last name like Azkaban?"

"I was one of the last children born in the prison," said Delilah. "Everyone who was born there carries the last name."

"That's rough," said Harry. "How did you wind up being born in Azkaban?"

"Old Ministry policy," said Delilah. "They'd lock up the expecting werewolves in Azkaban until delivery, then try them. Until they figured out that half mad werewolves were more dangerous than regular werewolves."

"Dementors are horrible," said Harry. "How'd you know my mum and dad?"

"Lily was doing some research on us," shrugged Delilah. "Department of Mysteries work. A bunch of us volunteered to be her test subjects - Lily, at least, made sure we had a place to stay and didn't give us poisons. We called ourselves the Hollow Pack."

"The pack was based in Godric's Hollow," explained Sirius.

"And most of us were stuck," added Delilah. "Not wanting to be in the feral packs, can't be among humans. Not having a house but finding home in other wolves. Something's missing, so we're all a little hollow inside."

"I think I know how that feels," said Harry. "Wanting so badly to belong, but not fitting in. Being a wizard among Muggles or a celebrity is a little like that. You're always apart."

"That's it," mused Delilah. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Clearing out the house," said Sirius. "Making it inhabitable again. You wouldn't believe the things my parents hid in here. Most of it is illegal, some of it is disturbing, and the rest of it is both."

"And taking care of Buckbeak," said Harry.

"That too," said Sirius.

"And Buckbeak is…?" said Delilah.

"A Hippogriff," said Harry. "He helped us break Sirius out of Hogwarts a few years ago."

"I sense a story here," said Delilah. Sirius proceeded to tell her the truth about Halloween 1981, his subsequent arrest and breakout, and the events of June '93.

"Bad luck," sighed Delilah, "and bad timing. Can I tell the rest of the pack? They were upset when Halloween happened."

"Harry? Sirius? I'm home!" called Remus from the doorway.

"Sitting room, Remus!" Sirius called back. "We have company."

"You love company," said Remus as he maneuvered around the 'dispose of' pile of stuff in the front hall and into the sitting room. "Lilah, it's good to see you. How've you been?"

"Better, now that I've visited," said Delilah. "It was good to meet Harry again. I hear you've got nice accommodations."

"The very best," agreed Remus. "You should see the obstacle course. It's fantastic."

"Sirius was just telling me about it," said Delilah. "Anyway, I was wondering if you three wanted to come with me to Crescent tonight."

"I'd like that," said Remus. "Sirius, what do you think?"

"I'd like to get out of the house for a bit," said Sirius, "but is Azkaban worth the risk?"

"I'm always worth the risk," laughed Delilah.

"Your decision," said Remus.

"What's Crescent?" asked Harry.

"Werewolf bar and dance club," said Remus. "It's one of the few places that humanoid magical creatures can legally just be themselves. Humans are welcome twenty-four nights of twenty-eight. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like."

"I'd like that," said Harry. "That is, er, if Sirius says I can."

"Hm?" said Sirius. "Of course you can go. I trust Lilah and Moony with you. You'll be safe with the Hollow Pack."

"If things get hectic, we'll come back," said Delilah. "I'm not inclined to get caught in a fight tonight."

"I'll do some Transfiguring and come with," said Sirius. "What d'you think, Moony?"

"Better some disguise than no disguise," agreed Remus. "Delilah, would you help Harry find something to wear? We'll eat dinner here then go."

Delilah leaped outof her chair and grabbed Harry's hands excitedly. "Of course! Show me to your room, Harry. We'll find something good."

"The door stays open, Delilah," said Remus warningly. "I'll fight you if I have to."

"I said I wasn't going to fight tonight," said Delilah impatiently. "And we'll leave the door open, just for you, Remus."

"Thank you," said Remus, sighing and leaning into Sirius. Delilah pulled Harry up the stairs and paused at the first landing. Harry pointed up the stairs and followed her up the second flight. When they reached Harry's room, Delilah stopped.

"How are you doing?" asked Delilah.

"I'm a bit bewildered, actually," said Harry. "But that's pretty normal when I'm in the wizarding world."

"Alright then," said Delilah. "Let's have a look at what you own." After a few minutes of searching through Harry's clothes, she straightened and frowned. "Your clothes are horrible."

"They're my cousin's cast-offs," said Harry. "My aunt and uncle refuse to buy me clothes of my own."

"Well that's shit," said Delilah. She went to the door and shouted down, "Sirius! I need your help!"

"With what?" Sirius called back.

"Turning some of Harry's clothes into acceptable pieces," said Delilah. "Because you've been a terrible godfather and are letting him run around in cast-offs."

Sirius came up the stairs, an expression of concern on his face. "I have? That should be fixed." He pulled out his wand and flicked it in the direction of an ugly mustard and puce coloured shirt that Delilah held up, transforming it into a blue on blue plaid flannel. Delilah frowned, and Sirius sighed and turned it into a black leather jacket. A horrible lime green tee shirt became a long sleeved dark purple shirt, and the too-big pants that Harry was wearing shrunk to fit and became a nice dark wash.

"Much better," said Delilah, nodding her satisfaction. "But the shirt should be short-sleeved."

"Then we'll change another one," said Sirius. Delilah seized a mud brown jumper and held it up. A wand flick later and it was a dark red tee shirt.

"That looks great," said Harry. He took his new clothes into his bathroom and changed. He admired himself in the mirror: for once, he looked decent and like his clothes were meant for him. When he emerged from the bathroom, he found just Delilah sitting on his bed.

"Where's Sirius?" asked Harry.

"Gone to fix his face so he doesn't get arrested," said Delilah. "That looks so much better, Harry, it really does."

"Thanks," said Harry. "Should we go help Remus with dinner?"

"I'd like that," said Delilah, "except I can't cook for love or money."

"Then you can watch us," said Harry. He took her hand and pulled her down the stairs to the kitchen, where she sat at the table and watched in fascination as Harry and Remus pulled together a plate of sweet and sour chicken with fried rice. By the time Sirius joined them, Delilah had stolen three pieces of chicken and been smacked on the fingers once by Remus.

"Shall we eat?" said Sirius as he took a seat beside Delilah and across from Remus. Harry sat beside Remus and across from Delilah. The four of them ate quickly, wanting to get going for the more adventurous part of the evening. By eight o'clock, the kitchen was completely cleaned up, Remus had changed, and Sirius had rearranged his features so that he was a green eyed redhead with a crooked nose and broad cheekbones. He looked nothing like Sirius Black, and that was the important part.

"Alright, let's go!" cheered Delilah. Sirius took Harry's arm and Remus took Delilah's and the four of them Apparated to an alleyway in Southwark. Delilah shook herself off and led the way towards an abandoned looking building with a triple moon over the doorway. The man at the door took a look at the group and opened the heavy wooden door for them. Remus and Delilah steered Harry and Sirius towards a table at the back, where three werewolves were sitting playing euchre.

"Hello, you lot," said Delilah. "Look who opted to join us tonight!"

"Remus!" said one of the men. "Good to see you in good health."

"And you, Adrian," said Remus. "Carla, Jung, it's good to see you again as well."

"Who've you brought with you, Remus?" asked Carla.

"A very well disguised Sirius," said Remus as Sirius waved, "and Lily and James' son Harry."

"Oh wow," said Jung. "It's been ages since any of us have seen Harry. It's good to meet you again, kiddo."

"It's nice to meet you too," said Harry.

"Harry, these three are part of the Hollow pack," said Remus. "Like Delilah, they were fairly close to your parents before they went into hiding."

"How did you meet my mum and dad?" asked Harry.

"Lily was working at a full moon holding warehouse," said Carla, "and she asked us if we'd be interested in helping her with some research that might make our lives easier. We had nothing to lose, so we moved to Godric's Hollow and formed the pack."

"I didn't know that Mum worked in one of the holding warehouses," said Harry.

"She worked a variety of jobs after graduation," said Sirius. "And settles as an Unspeakable. So she could research what she wanted."

"Cool," said Harry. "So, er, how do you play euchre?"

Adrian immediately began to explain the rules, and offered to partner Harry for the next few rounds so that he could practice playing. Delilah took over Jung's hand as he went to get drinks for the table. Remus and Sirius went down to the dance floor and danced together. Harry and Adrian won a game of euchre and were high fiving when a big werewolf knocked into Jung.

Immediately, Delilah was on her feet, her hands balled into fists. Adrian pushed Harry into the corner behind him. Sirius and Remus returned to the table from the dance floor. The big werewolf raised his hands in surrender and retreated. Delilah sank back into her seat.

"I think it's time we left," said Remus. Sirius nodded.

"You're probably right," agreed Delilah, "seeing as it's one in the morning."

Harry blinked. "It is?"

"Yes, it is," said Sirius. "Also, the spells on my face are wearing off."

"That's not good," said Harry. "It was nice meeting you."

"It was great meeting you as well, kiddo," said Carla. "Take care of him, Remus!"

"I intend to," said Remus. "He's family, after all."

"Shall we?" asked Sirius. Remus led Sirius and Harry out of Crescent and back to the alleyway they had Apparated into. Sirius took Harry's arm and the three of them Apparated back to Grimmauld Place without incident. Harry stumbled upstairs and fell into a restful sleep almost immediately.


End file.
